Sunday, May 28, 2006

INTERNET BHAGAWAN

There was a time when we Indians enjoyed unlimited religious freedom by having our own personal Gods for each and every one of us. In addition to a dozen odd popular Gods, each region, community, class and even each profession had a version of God associated with it. Whatever is beyond our comprehension and whatever is sustaining our very existence became eligible for being a God. We have always considered Ishvar as unique and Gods (Bhagawans) as its manifestations or reflections to suit the aspirations and ideas of each section or individual. What we are boasting today as India’s heritage is a direct result of this unhindered freedom that existed in our society thousands of years back. Without any facilities for experimental work and scientific institutions for research, our ancient rishis could think of the speed of light, supersonic aeroplanes and evolution of cosmos only because of their flights of imagination fuelled by unfettered freedom that prevailed in our society. What outsiders ridicule as the foolery of Indians in worshipping rats and trees was indeed the very forte of our ancient seers. To recognise a manifestation of Ishvar in everything and vice versa requires faculties and humility unimaginable for those who ridicule us. To regain our past glory, we should be thinking of returning to those days of unlimited freedom when we could discover newer and newer Gods everyday.

Omnipresent and Omnipotent

Whatever is omnipresent and omnipotent has an automatic claim to be considered as God. Water, Air and Light got direct entry into our pantheon of Gods only because of this. And without these Gods it is almost impossible to survive in the present day world. In the same lines, if there is something new that is omnipresent, omnipotent and life-sustaining, it is the INTERNET. It is all pervasive, all powerful and above all one of the greatest levelling forces that we have ever seen. It can bring down iron curtains, dictatorships and unwanted governments in no time. State secrets and secret deals to keep common man under eternal subjugation can no more exist with the advent of uncontrolled information highways over the net. Taking people for a ride for the present and de-classifying documents that point to the opposite after a while to show off democratic transparency are all becoming stale crafts of state management. There is very few that the governments can do now to keep information away from common man thanks to the internet.

Internet has empowered vast sections of society in almost all countries. Women and children are the foremost beneficiaries of information explosion that happened (and is happening) over the net. Women in remotest corners of the earth have access to the latest in family life and fashion if they want. Their voice can reach anyone anywhere even if they are under physical or emotional imprisonment in a society dominated by men. Servants (the current form of slaves) can expose their masters of their atrocities if only they are bit clever. All forms of creativity are booming thanks to effortless marketing available on the net. Thousands are deriving satisfaction out of free outlets for their writing abilities only because of the easy availability of the net. People like me who could never have published even a single article have recognised the virtual messiah in the form of internet. It is no more possible to go forward without accepting the INTERNET BHAGAWAN that has blessed us with so many facilities. It is only logical that the deification of internet started in the land of Vedas (knowledge) and our software gurus carried the ‘new good news’ to all parts of the globe. For this to work out, we need a starting point, a modern Bodhgaya with the peepal tree of wisdom.

Oachira Parabrahmam and Man-hour Offerings

It is still common in India to find annual congregations of people of same profession in certain temples. The temple deity is considered as the presiding lord of their profession by these people. There are so many temples in India for various types of craftsmen. But if and when we are thinking of conceiving a Bhagawan for IT professionals (software & internet), I don’t think there is any better choice than the Parabrahmam at Oachira (a small town in South Kerala). Parabrahmam, meaning the absolute, is all powerful but incognizable. It is without form and the said temple of profound ambience has an open architecture with no idol to worship. What can be more apt for a set of professionals indulging in highly intellectual exercise like software development and attempting internet connectivity with the known and unknown. All software is powerful and internet is incognizable. And the professionals connected to the two come from all sections of the society which calls for a formless form of Bhagawan to worship. Oachira Parabrahmam can satisfy all these requirements and is cent percent worthy of being anointed as the presiding deity of software and internet professionals (in general, all IT professionals). Those at the helm of professional bodies like Computer Society of India and Swadeshi Science Movement must take note of this and take the lead in anointing Oachira Parabrahmam as the Lord of Mrithupanya (the nearest Sanskrit equivalent of software).

What needs to be done next is to think of novel ways of offering to the lord of IT profession by people of Indian origin all over the globe. Software personnel always think in terms of man-hours and it is only natural that their offerings too are in the same units. It would be a reasonable figure for all the Indian IT professionals to offer at least 5 man-hours of their efforts every year to the lord of their profession. As an example, an Indian IT professional in USA earning USD 50,000 per year must be thinking of offering at least USD 28.5 (INR 1200/-) to Oachira Parabrahmam every year. They must also make it a point to pay a visit to Oachira once a year (with their families) and enjoy its uniqueness compared to other temples of India. Irrespective of religion, caste and creed, all have complete access and every one will be mesmerised by the concept and architecture of the temple that was conceived thousands of years back. Only noble minds could have thought of such all inclusive concepts of God for carrying the entire society together. Internet Bhagawan has really come to stay at Oachira.